After recent rainy days, yesterday started with bright golden morning sunshine, with just a hint of mist on our walk across the fields, and as we turned a corner we met a golden combination of low sun shining through the light mist, reflected in floodwater. Tia instantly spotted the flood, sprinting through the shallow water, and I only just had time to capture her as she splashed across in front of me.
Tia has always loved running through floods, and so I wasn’t surprised last weekend when she vigorously splashed around in shallow water in a wildlife meadow where the adjacent river had burst its banks. I waded through in my wellies, balancing my away across a narrow plank a few inches below the surface, which bridged a marshy area in all but the driest weather, and which now assisted me to cross a deeper area of water. I looked back to see Tia running up and down the far side of the deeper water, sometimes venturing in, but retreating when the water reached her chest. She clearly is not a comfortable swimmer, and eventually followed my route, walking precariously along the submerged plank, with only occasional faltering when a paw slipped off the edge of the plank. She was glad to reach the “shallows” on the far side.
